


Crying Baby

by geeksthetics



Series: A Group of Maladjusted Young Adults [4]
Category: DCU, DCU (Comics), Teen Titans (Animated Series), Teen Titans (Comics), Titans (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: And they love each other and help each other out, F/M, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, It’s really sweet, idk the titans are all family and stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-24 12:34:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17100683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geeksthetics/pseuds/geeksthetics
Summary: Wally’s eyes widened. “Who did you knock up?” he exclaimed. Garth groaned at his friend’s volume. If the baby hadn’t woken the others up, then Wally’s voice surely would.





	Crying Baby

**Author's Note:**

> definitely not my best but it’s been sitting in my drafts and i hacer really had the time to really edit the hell out of it so whatever

A baby’s wails pierced the otherwise-quiet night. Shushing quickly followed, in hopes of not waking the other Titans residents. But the damage had already been done. A groggy speedster rushed into the room at a pace slower than usual. Wally’s eyes were half-mast, his hair and pajamas rumpled from sleep.

He nodded slowly, still dazed and unfocused. “Oh, Garth just you and a baby. I thought you were in trouble. I’ll go back to bed now.”

Garth almost sighed in relief. He wanted to try to keep the child in his arms a secret for as long as possible and that wouldn’t be possible with Blabbermouth Wally, as Roy had dubbed him.

Garth’s relief was cut short as Wally suddenly rushed back into the room and Garth knew he had been caught.

Wally took in the scene in front of him. Garth stood next to a basinet that Wally was pretty sure hadn’t been there last week. A baby, not even a year old, with a tuft of white hair, fussed in Garth’s arms, refusing a bottle of milk Garth offered.

Wally’s eyes widened. “Who did you knock up?” he exclaimed. Garth groaned at his friend’s volume. If the baby hadn’t woken the others up, then Wally’s voice surely would.

“Wally, _hush_ ,” Garth attempted to silence the other man. He could hear the other Titans rustling around in their rooms.

His friend frowned in confusion. He continued to speak at the same volume. “What? Why do you want me to be quiet?” Realization dawned on him. “Oh, wait, you’re trying to–” he ducked his head and quickly dropped his voice to a whisper at Garth’s sharp look – “you’re trying to put the baby to sleep aren’t you?”

“Wally, what are you yelling about?” Lilith asked. Garth closed his eyes, sending a silent prayer to Neptune that he and the baby would suddenly become invisible.

Someone gasped. “Garth, is that a _baby_?” Busted.

Garth opened his eyes. At the door stood Lilith, Karen, Roy, and their newest member Artemis Crock peering over Karen’s shoulder.

“Garth,” Lilith began warily. He could only imagine what this must look like to his girlfriend, him carrying a baby that was obviously not Karen and Mal’s.

The baby continued to fuss in his arms his cries rising as he didn’t receive what he wanted. Garth grew increasingly frazzled, unsure of what the baby could be needing. He had burped him, fed him a large bottle of milk, checked his diaper, yet the boy continued to cry.

A chuckle caught his attention. Garth grew defensive. “Problem, Harper?”

The archer shrugged and leaned against the doorframe as he teased. “Nah, just enjoying you struggle.” His kids – both adoptive and biological – poked their heads around him, Donna close behind them.

Donna lightly shoved Roy. “If I remember correctly, you looked the same way with Lian more than a few times.”

Roy rubbed his neck sheepishly. “Yeah, Lian wasn’t an easy baby.”

Karen’s maternal instincts must have finally pushed thorugh her exhaustion. She entered the room and gently lifted the boy from Garth’s arms. Checking the baby for any possible ailments and finding none, she walked right back out of the room and into hers to the surprise of everyone but Garth who was too exhausted to really react.

Garth instantly sunk onto the edge of the bed. He was beginning to feel the effects of the few hours of sleep he’d gotten this week. He wanted nothing more than to fall onto his sheets and pillow and sleep for days.

Lilith cautiously followed him onto the bed. She had no doubt been reading him since she’d arrived at his door yet she still asked, “Garth, what’s going on?”

“We’ve got a baby cousin,” Tommy cheered. Lian’s face grew sour. She was a good child but still prone to jealousy. Donna always said that Roy spoiled her too much.

Dick’s dark head poked around the doorframe. “What’s going on? What happened?” he asked, his slurred words dripping with exhaustion.

“Garth was just about to tell us why he has a baby, right Garth?” Donna politely prodded. Her eyes were encouraging.

Garth dropped his head into his hands. His head pounded, the need to sleep seeping deep into his bones. He pushed on, though, needing to at least give his friends an explanation before he dozed off.

Running a hand thorugh his hair, he said, “The baby isn’t mine. Not biologically, anyways. I found him by some rubble of a destroyed building on the outskirts of Cerdia.”

“An Atlantean baby?” Dick questioned.

Garth nodded. “Yes. I tried to find his parents. He was crying and nobody was around. I couldn’t leave him alone so I took him and searched for his parents.”

“I’m guessing you didn’t?” Artemis asked. She was still getting accostumed to the group dynamic and different personlaities so she rarely spoke, choosing instead to play the bystander.

Garth’s expression grew somber. “That’s where you’d be wrong.”

Understanding his change in tone, Donna sighed. “Oh, Garth, no, they can’t be.”

He nodded his head. “They’re dead. They were a part of the casualties in a battle between Cerdia and Atlantis.”

Understanding dawned on the others. Garth had been left for dead as a baby too after the death of his own parent. It was only natural that he would feel the need to protect the baby.

Lilith quietly asked, “Why didn’t you tell us anything?”

Garth shrugged. “I don’t know,” he answered sincerely. “I only discovered this morning the death of his parents. Until then I had only believed him to be lost from them. I suppose I didn’t say anything for fear that you would all tell me I was way in over my head. I. . . I don’t know, I feel the need to take him in as my own.”

“You want to keep the kid?” Wally was incredulous. Roy elbowed him sharply in the ribs, eliciting a small, “What?” from the speedster.

“Man, I was way in over my head with Lian,” Roy said earnestly. “Garth, you’ve got experience with all of our kids and you’ll have our help.”

Garth lifted his head, looking at his friends. “You woulnd’t mind waking up in the middle of the night to help me with a crying child?”

Dick shrugged. “We’re already used to it. Another baby makes no difference.”

Garth looked at Lilith, expecting her to be upset with him over keeping a child a secret from her. He was relieved to see her as calm as usual. Leaning her head against his shoulder, she agreed. “Yeah, what’s one more baby?” It felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. He knew his friends were going to offer up their support no mater what but he had still been anxious to tell them.

Karen stepped out of her room holding her sleepy daughter in her arms. Behind her, Mal sang softly as he rocked the baby in his arms.

Karen smiled at Garth. “All he needed was someone to sing him to sleep and fortunately for us, singing babies to sleep is one of Mal’s many talents.”

“What’s his name?” Mal said. The baby slept peacefully in his arms, no trace of having been abadnonded in a seabed anywhere in his face.

“Cerdian. His name is Cerdian.”


End file.
